Tiemoue Bakayoko is set to depart from Stamford Bridge after Galatasaray showed interest to pen the midfielder, albeit for a season-long loan arrangement.
The French international was signed by the Blues in 2017 for a £40m transfer fee after Bakayoko helped his club, Monaco lift the Ligue 1 trophy. Bakayoko also helped the team reach the Champions League in the semi-final round.
However, the 24-year-old defensive midfielder was said to have endured difficult debut season with the Blues after he was signed to replace Nemanja Matic. Bakayoko was eventually shipped out to the Italian’s side AC Milan on loan.
Chelsea’s new manager, Frank Lampard earlier said that he is willing to give all of his players a brand new start with the club. However, Bakayoko was not included in his plan for Chelsea’s upcoming 2019/2020 campaign. Bakayoko did not take part in the Blues’ pre-season matches against Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Monchengladbach.
AC Milan flinched at Chelsea’s asking price of £32 million for the defensive midfielder, and this prompted Galatasaray to make a move for the Frenchman.
Lampard who replaced Maurizio Sarri as head coach cannot make new signings for two years after Chelsea was sanctioned with a transfer ban. Sarri had already left Stamford Bridge for Juventus in Italy. This forced the new head coach to rely fully on the club’s existing players, their academy players as well as those who are on loans.
Mateo Kovacic recently signed a deal permanently with Chelsea from Real Madrid. Mason Mount also showed stellar performance during the pre-season preparations. Mount has played for Derby County on loan last season under Lampard. N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Ross Barkley are also showing great performances. This only proves that Lampard has a lot of central midfield options.
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